PHOTOGRAPHY | WRITING | CREATIVE WRITING
Shooting London
Two sides of a city in the same photo
The joy of revisiting familiar hangouts is that sometimes I’m exposed to serendipitous moments. Allen Gardens, near Brick Lane, is part of an area I know well because I walk and cycle around it a lot. The graffiti and street art-covered walls under the railway line attract many.
On the day we went, there were a few guys working on their art pieces. The smell of acrylic paint was so strong that at some point I had to cover my nose. It was then that I noticed the view that became the photo above.
As an amateur photographer, what I look for in a photo is a story. It doesn’t matter if the picture belongs to someone else and it’s hanging in a gallery or it’s stashed away in my OneDrive folder. As a storyteller, I’m moved by narratives.
As I walked away from the playground towards Shoreditch City Farm (which we didn’t enter this time), I looked back and became aware of the contrast between the Truman Tower on the right and the highrises on the left.
The Truman Brewery was one of the largest brewers in the world at the tail end of the 19th century. It was founded in 1666 (yes, the same year when the Great Fire of London happened. You know your history. Thanks) and became a symbol of that part of London known as the East End. It’s a building that has witnessed the ever-changing nature of what was formerly a much-derided and slum-dominated part of the British capital.
The modern towers on the left of the photo have a different meaning to me. They stand for new money, investment from overseas, and a deepening of the rift between rich and poor. The Gherkin, on the far left, is perhaps the better-known highrise of those in the image.
It was only when I sat down to write this post that I noticed the greenery in the foreground. Unwittingly I had also included an element London is famous for — its parks, commons and recreation grounds.
History, nature, and modernity. All in one picture. All in one city.
You can buy me a coffee here.
